Visits
by FinalArcadia
Summary: Set after the World Duel Carnival, Yuma has a recurring unexpected visitor in his room. And surprisingly to him, he doesn't mind one bit. A series of visits ensue between the unlikely "comrades." To be updated frequently until complete.
1. First Visit - Gratitude

My first (planned) multi-chapter submission, yay! Set after the World Duel Carnival, various visits from an unexpected meetings commence between Yuma and and unexpected guest. This is the first.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL_.**

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They'd been meeting on -and-off for about two weeks.

It started when Yuma found a surprise guest in his room seated upon the floor, absorbed in the various souvenirs scattered about. The boy had a very familiar face, or rather, a very familiar mask.

"Tr-Tron…?" the black-haired boy stammered out. He had not heard anything of the Arclights after the events at Heartland, and thus assumed they'd returned to their true home. Clearly, he was mistaken.

"Oh, Yuma!" exclaimed Tron, unaware of his presence prior to now. He giggled slightly, adding, "Did I surprise you?"

"Yeah, I thought you guys had went back home," Yuma explained. He detected a slight change in Tron's voice from how he remembered it; though still obviously child-like with a playful tone, the contempt it formerly held was gone, becoming gentler in comparison. Noting this, Yuma inadvertently found himself smiling back at Tron.

"We did go back home, actually…" His voice trailed as his attention did, fiddling with one of the room's many artifacts. After a few moments, Tron returned to the conversation at hand.

"I opened a portal to come here directly. Chris, Thomas, and Mihael are indeed back home." Noticing a slight look of confusion on Yuma's face, he clarified, "IV and III, Thomas and Mihael."

Understanding donned on Yuma's face. "Oh, right! I'll have to get used to their names." Though still a bit apprehensive of the braided child before him, hearing signs that life had returned to some degree of normalcy at the use of given names brought a warm feeling to the teen, genuinely happy for the family, especially III… Mihael. "So, Tron –"

"Please, 'Byron,' if you would."

"Yuma knew this was going to take some getting used to. Still, he corrected himself. "Byron, why did you come here?" It was a blunt question, but it held no ill-intent or hostility, just pure curiosity.

_So much like Kazuma_…

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" mused Byron. He paused for a moment, growing more serious as he prepared to speak. "I came to finally thank you." Behind that mask, his golden eye cast a strong, clear gaze, a gaze fixed firmly upon Yuma.

"You didn't have to do anything other than defeat me during our duel, yet you showed me compassion. At risk to yourself, you reached out to me… Just as Kazuma did years ago…"

The appearance of such a child-like form in heavy reminisce was a bit foreign to the dark-haired teen, and he was unsure if it was all right to interrupt his thoughts. However, a response was in order, and he proceeded to provide it.

"You don't have to thank me, Tr —Byron," he smiled. "I wanted to see you and your family smile again, and besides… we're comrades now."

Laughing heartily, Byron stood from the floor. That after all the trouble he caused, somebody could be so kind and forgiving… He was fascinated by the other's effortless acceptance of all that had transpired.

"You really are quite a remarkable kid," he observed.

With the laughter that preceded the words, Yuma was not completely certain whether they were genuine or sarcastic in tone. Seeing the expression on Byron's face, however, led him to believe the former. As he opened his own mouth to speak, Byron quickly disappeared into a portal – presumably back to his sons – without any further conversation.

The room's remaining occupant couldn't help but wonder if that would end up being his final time seeing the Arclight patriarch. And contrary to what he would've felt weeks ago, that possibility left him a melancholy taste.


	2. Second Visit - Forgiveness

Hello again, to anyone who may be reading this! This is a short chapter, mainly just to lay some groundwork for later. So we've got some more Yuma and Tron/Byron conversation going on. Without further ado, here is the second visit!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.**

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He appeared without warning in the attic-style bedroom three days later.

"Aww, Yuma," the blond began, "you don't look nearly as surprised to see me this time. That's no fun."

Yuma chuckled, partly at simply seeing Byron again. "Sorry, I guess I adapted to the surprise quickly. What brings you here again, Byron?" Use of the given name was becoming surprisingly natural, giving greater distance to the gentler, current Byron from his time as the cruel, manipulative Tron.

"Our previous meeting got me thinking, and I have a question for you."

"Sure, ask away."

A short silence persisted. Finally, Byron set about voicing his query.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you of my actions and behavior during the Duel Carnival, right?"

A bit hesitantly, Yuma nodded. Byron continued.

"That all is horrid enough, but… Kazuma sacrificed himself in a futile attempt to save me. It's quite possible he could've climbed up and saved himself if not for me."

The cyan-clad boy looked down toward the floor, breaking eye contact with the other. With much trepidation, he braced to ask his question.

"It's my fault Kazuma was even placed in such a dangerous position. I contacted him, I asked him to assist Faker…" Inhaling deeply first, he finished, "How could you not hold a deep grudge against me?"

Whatever Yuma had been expecting, it certainly was not that. Taken off-guard, he sat down on his hammock.

"Byron, my dad wanted to try to help you, I'm sure of it," Yuma started, a soft smile adorning his face. "And if I had been in his position, I know I would've done the same thing. Like in the finals. I don't think about the past much," admitted Yuma. "I just know that, now, you're a good guy."

He opened his mouth slightly – as if to refute – but Byron decided to stay quiet, realizing that – given Yuma's nature – it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Yuma watched as the other opened a portal once more. "Do you plan to come back here again?" he called out. "You're welcome anytime. And so are III, IV… er, Mihael, Thomas, and Chris."

With a fleeting glance back, Byron said simply in reply, "You know, Kazuma must be quite proud of you."

And he was gone.


	3. Third Visit - Reminisce

Chapter 3, after a super long break. Really sorry about the huge gap of time between when this and chapter 2 came out, but I'm incredibly grateful to those who are following this story! Thank you so much, you guys are great! So without further ado, this time, Byron ends up conversing with other members of the Tsukumo family.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL_.**

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Upon the passing of a week, a portal opened yet again in Yuma's room.

At this third visit, a habit of sorts had been formed. The usual greeting, a bit of small talk… This time, however, Byron had arrived relatively later than on previous occasions.

Smelling the scent of the food that was being prepared downstairs, Yuma broke their current topic of conversation to ask, "Byron, would you like to eat dinner with us?"

"Oh…" The blonde's face reddened slightly, surprised by the offer. "I… appreciate the thought, but it'd probably be best if I don't." He was a bit apprehensive of being around the Tsukumo family, particularly in his current form. "I'd rather not be a burden—"

"Granny loves company! It's not trouble at all."

"How would I explain my identity to her? And it would hardly be polite to wear my mask, leading to more problems…"

Yuma thought about the situation for a moment. He understood Byron's concern, yet he also knew that his family was quite accepting…

"I can't force you," he replied with a laugh, "but Granny and _Nee-chan_ wouldn't pry." Observing the masked boy for a moment, Yuma stated, "Even if they did ask for a name and recognized 'Arclight,' they'd probably just think that you're Byron's son. Er… I mean, not your own son, but…uh…"

Seeing Yuma struggle with his words brought a smile to Byron's face, leading him to remove his mask. "You've convinced me, Yuma."

It wasn't long after that the two went downstairs.

At the sight of them, Haru gave a warm welcome to the guest she supposed to be a friend of Yuma. Her eyes lingered on the left side of his face for a second, but Haru quickly moved past that, instead wearing a genial grin as she addressed the two.

"Come on, come on, we're ready to eat!"

As they all sat down at the table, Akari's stares were cut short by a quick glance from Haru.

"So, Yuma, who is your cute friend here?" she asked.

"Oh, he's, uh…"

Noticing Yuma's difficulty at answering, Byron finished for him. "Byron Arclight. Thank you for having me over tonight."

"You're quite welcome, dear." She continued smiling, but a look of recognition donned upon her face. She'd definitely heard that name before…

Akari was quicker to catch on to the familiar name, blurting out, "Wasn't that… the name of one of those scientists Dad guided?"

Well, that didn't take long.

She stared expectantly at the guest seated before her, awaiting a response. Despite herself, Haru also couldn't hide her curiosity, anxious to hear of a possible connection to her son.

A long hush prevailed, during which Byron tried to ascertain the best course of action. Tell the truth, but leave the Tsukumos with questions he may not be able to answer? Lie, but spare them the truth of betrayal? He wrestled with both options for a while, but he knew he couldn't hold off on answering for much longer. Cautiously, he decided to go with the latter, knowing that there would be time to come clean later if need be. Yuma looked over at him, silently asking if he should interfere somehow. With a quick shake of his head, Byron finally spoke.

"Yes, my… father was one of the scientists Kazuma had guided." It was a strange feeling, to be referring to himself as instead his son, but there was no point in throwing the two listeners into the mess that was reality. Not yet.

Just as he set about continuing, he realized that he had made a slip-up in referring to Kazuma by name. He decided to move on, ignoring it. "Before he disappeared, he told me a bit about Yuma's father. Apparently, he was a fantastic explorer, but also a very personable and compassionate father and friend."

Haru beamed at the positive assessment of her son, despite her slight disappointment in a lack of information as to his whereabouts. Akari also looked satisfied with Byron's response, giving a slight grin before she returned to her meal.

Yuma watched as Byron closed his eye for several seconds before opening it again, proceeding to poke at the food before him. He noticed that the blonde wasn't eating much, but also that he looked lost in thought.

A half hour later, Byron voiced his gratitude at the Tsukumo family for having him over, and left; this time, he exited through the front door of the home.


End file.
